Emergency planning

“Gone In 60 Seconds”… Do You Have a Disaster Prepared Mindset?

May 27, 2020 / 7 Comments

Ashes fell like rain and smoke drowned out the fiery red sun on our cozy Southern California beach town in October of 2007. The news reported that 1500 homes were lost in what is considered the worst fire disaster in San Diego County. At the time, I was a local non-profit chapter director and was receiving numerous calls and emails from eager volunteers looking to help. The American Red Cross already had boots on the ground and evacuation centers and …

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How to Assemble a 72-Hour Emergency Kit

March 23, 2022 / 9 Comments

image by twiStbarbie Tornado season is upon us and already there has been an outbreak of twisters across the heartland of America. Are you ready for this or some other disaster? Now is the time to either check the supplies in your 72-hour kit or pack one. It’s estimated that it takes 3 days for relief to get into an area where a natural disaster has occurred. Your 72-hour kit could mean the difference between life and death in an …

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Power-less in Seattle: A first-person report from a winter blizzard

January 18, 2022 / 37 Comments

I was sent a link to this first-hand report of a Seattle resident, Dave, who lived through this week’s blizzard.  I lived!!! As anybody who doesn’t live in a cave probably knows, the Seattle Pacific Northwest this week was hammered by winter storms, knocking out juice to what amounted, at the high point, to over 300,000 households, which affected around 1.2 million people! In this case, it was actually predicted that there could be scattered power outages.  News on Wednesday …

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Survival Tips for a Tornado Disaster

May 29, 2020 / 3 Comments

I’ve always been afraid of tornadoes, even before I heard of the Wicked Witch of the West and, “Surrender Dorothy!” Tornado survival is something that took a while for me to learn. Anybody who grew up or lived near Gilbert, in Central Iowa, is familiar with the destructive, whirling wind patterns. The movie “Twister” was filmed about 40 miles away from our family farm, and all the locals can tell storm stories. One year, our neighbors lost their house to …

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My Story: Lessons from the Nashville Flood

May 29, 2020 / 11 Comments

Beginning Saturday, May 1,  2010, Nashville and surrounding counties in Tennessee received one-fourth of our yearly rainfall in about 48 hours.  Since I now view everything through survivalist eyes, I’d like to share what I observed and the lessons that were reinforced and pass along a few tips to help you survive a flood. Lesson:  Good neighbors can help prevent loss of life during a disaster. While our emergency responders were great, they couldn’t be everywhere.  The greatest good was …

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image: earthquake gear, hard hat, safety glasses, gloves

Gear You Need in the Immediate Aftermath of an Earthquake

September 26, 2022 / 4 Comments

Earthquakes are frightening. Especially if you’re not prepared. This doesn’t have to be you. If you’re wondering what you can do now to help you in the event the earth moves under your feet, we’ve put together this list of earthquake gear you should have for use in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. 

image: woman packing a backpack earthquake emergency kit

Build an Earthquake Emergency Kit

September 26, 2022 / 10 Comments

If an earthquake hits and you must evacuate an unsafe home, what will you do? Here’s a list of what to pack in an earthquake emergency kit.